Advocating for Michigan’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

The Long Term Care Ombudsmen are a neutral third party who work with residents of licensed long-term care facilities with a goal of improving care and quality for residents and advocating for the resident’s wishes. Ombudsmen advocate on behalf of residents of licensed long-term care facilities such as nursing homes (NH), home for the aged (HFA), and adult foster care (AFC) homes.

There are only 20 designated ombudsmen in Michigan who are responsible for serving all facility residents. Michigan is ranked 50th out of 53 in the ratio of staff-to-bed with a ratio of 1:5,177 whereas nationally, the recommended minimum ombudsman-staff-to-bed ratio is 1:2,000 and the national average is 1:2,236.

Advocates throughout the state are working to secure increased funding for this critical program.  Advocacy materials and information are available below for use by advocates.  For more information about our ongoing advocacy efforts, contact us at advocacy@ageways.org.

Advocacy Tools

AgeWays Ombudsman One Page
Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan Ombudsman One Page
Generic Ombudsman One Page
Long Term Care Ombudsman Advocacy Letter
Long Term Care Ombudsman Advocacy Script
Long Term Care Ombudsman Talking Points
Long Term Care Ombudsman in Michigan Infographic

Data Resources

Long Term Care Ombudsman Report
The Senior Alliance (Wayne County) LTC Ombudsman Statistics 2023
Long Term Care Ombudsman Data Resources

Other Resources

For more information about the AgeWays Ombudsman Program, visit: https://www.ageways.org/services-and-seniors/long-term-care-ombudsman-program/

For more information about the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, visit: https://mltcop.org/